Systems and methods of an interface for use in electronic trading

ABSTRACT

Various systems and methods for presenting and interacting with electronic trading related information on a display screen of a computer system are provided. According to one or more embodiments, buttons are positioned and compressed along an axis, where each button corresponds to a function. A button can be selected through an action of a user input device. A button is removed from the region when a function corresponding to the button is no longer current and when the cursor is not positioned within the region. The remaining buttons, if any, in the region are compressed subsequent to removing the button from the region. A button is not removed from the region when the cursor is positioned within the region.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.12/582,489, filed Oct. 20, 2009, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,626,722, entitled“Systems and Methods of an Interface for Use in Electronic Trading,” thecontents of which are fully incorporated herein by reference for allpurposes.

BACKGROUND

The present inventions described herein are directed towards electronictrading. More particularly, the present inventions are directed towardsinterfaces, and aspects thereof, that are used to present electronictrading information on a display screen of a computer and allow a personto interact with the information.

An electronic trading system provides for electronically matching ordersto buy and sell items to be traded. The items may include, for example,stocks, options, and commodities. Typically, an electronic exchange inthe electronic trading system is used to match the orders. In addition,the electronic exchange provides market data to various client devicesin the electronic trading system used by traders to place the orders.For example, the electronic exchange may provide market data such asprices for various items available for trading and trade confirmationsindicating what trades have occurred at what quantities and/or prices.An example of an electronic exchange is the CME® Globex® electronictrading platform, which is offered by the Chicago Mercantile ExchangeGroup.

To trade on an electronic trading system, a person will often use acomputer to receive and electronically process data from the electronicexchange. The computer will generally output information to the personvia one or more display screens. The person may also interact with thecomputer and the information using an input device, like a mouse orkeyboard or both, which is in communication with the computer system.For example, the person may place trade orders, modify trade orders, anddelete trade orders at the electronic exchange using the computer systemand the input device.

Given the amount of data that is often viewed and processed by the userand the importance of speed in electronic trading, where microsecondscan matter, it is useful to provide an interface that may enhance theuser's performance in this kind of environment.

SUMMARY

There are a number of embodiments of the various present inventionsdescribed herein. In general, the present inventions are directedtowards interfaces, and aspects thereof, that are used to presentelectronic trading information on a display screen of a computer andallow a person to interact with the information.

For example, certain embodiments of the present inventions provide amethod for presenting electronic trading related information on adisplay screen of a computer system, including displaying on the displayscreen a region comprising one or more buttons that are positioned andcompressed along an axis, where each button is associated with a tradeorder; receiving a command to select a first button in the regionthrough an action of a user input device with a cursor of the user inputdevice positioned over the first button to initiate at least one ofmodifying a trade order corresponding to the first button and cancelingthe trade order corresponding to the first button; removing a secondbutton from the region when a trade order corresponding to the secondbutton is no longer pending at the one or more electronic exchanges andthe cursor of the user input device is not positioned within the region;compressing the one or more buttons in the region subsequent to removingthe second button from the region; and refraining from removing thesecond button from the region when the order corresponding to the secondbutton is no longer pending at the one or more electronic exchanges andthe cursor is positioned within the region.

In another example, certain embodiments of the present inventionsprovide a method for presenting electronic trading related informationon a display screen of a computer system, including displaying on thedisplay screen a region comprising a plurality of buttons, where eachbutton is configured to be selected with a user input device, and wherea selection of each button initiates a function that corresponds to atrade order pending at an electronic exchange; moving a first button inthe region upon an automatic command to move the first button and whenthe cursor of the user input device is not positioned within the region;and refraining from moving the first button in the region upon theautomatic command to move the first button when the cursor is positionedwithin the region.

In yet another example, certain embodiments of the present inventionsprovide a computer readable medium having stored therein instructionsfor execution on a computer to perform the following method: displayingon the display screen a region comprising one or more buttons that arepositioned and compressed along an axis, where each button is associatedwith a trade order; receiving a command to select a first button in theregion through an action of a user input device with a cursor of theuser input device positioned over the first button to initiate at leastone of modifying a trade order corresponding to the first button andcanceling the trade order corresponding to the first button; removing asecond button from the region when a trade order corresponding to thesecond button is no longer pending at the one or more electronicexchanges and the cursor of the user input device is not positionedwithin the region; compressing the one or more buttons in the regionsubsequent to removing the second button from the region; and refrainingfrom removing the second button from the region when the ordercorresponding to the second button is no longer pending at the one ormore electronic exchanges and the cursor is positioned within theregion.

Other embodiments, and aspects thereof, of the present inventions aredescribed below. In addition, modifications may be made to the describedembodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of theinventions.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Example embodiments are described herein with reference to the followingdrawings.

FIGS. 1A and 1B are example screen shots when features of certainembodiments described herein are turned OFF.

FIGS. 2A, 2B, and 2C are example screen shots when features of certainembodiments described herein are turned ON.

FIG. 3 is an illustrative block diagram of locations being displayed ona display screen when features of certain embodiments described hereinare turned OFF.

FIG. 4 is an illustrative block diagram of locations being displayed ona display screen when features of certain embodiments described hereinare turned ON.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of certain embodimentsdescribed herein.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a system that can perform the operation ofFIG. 5.

The following will be better understood by a person skilled in the artwhen read in conjunction with the figures which show variousembodiments. The figures are for the purpose of illustrating certainembodiments, but it is understood that the various inventions are notlimited to the arrangements and instrumentality shown in the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various systems and methods are described herein for use in outputtingelectronic trading information on a display screen of a computer, forexample, and for receiving input on the information from a person.Certain embodiments exemplify a computer-based output that is configuredto make efficient use of screen space and also reduce, or eliminate, thenumber of mis-clicks (e.g., a selection of an unintended function) thatcould occur due to the dynamic nature of the interface.

Some embodiments are described below by illustrating when certainfeatures are turned ON or OFF. According to some embodiments, forexample, a feature may be turned ON or OFF manually by a user,automatically by the computer program itself, or manually by the userand automatically by the computer program, if so programmed. In otherembodiments, for example, a feature is configured to not be turned OFFmanually, automatically, or both manually and automatically. That is,the feature is intended to remain ON. Irrespective of whether a featurecan be turned ON or OFF, the following examples are used to illustratecertain embodiments.

FIGS. 1A and 1B show example screen shots when certain features of someembodiments described more below are turned OFF. The screen shots areillustrations of a user interface for a computer program, more of whichis described below, where the user interface provides a platform thatallows the user to interact with the program. In certain embodiments,the screen shots are output on the display screen of a computer, where acomputer is one or machines that is configured to manipulate dataaccording to instructions.

Window 100 of FIG. 1A currently displays information pertaining to threeseparate trade orders, where each trade order is an order of a spreadstrategy between two or more different tradeable objects. In thisinstance, the trade orders are legged hedge orders resulting from theinability to finish the spread strategy. However, the trade orders couldbe representative of any type of trade order. With respect to the tradeorders in window 100, spread strategies are known in the art. A user canconfigure a spread strategy using any number of commercially availablespread trading tools. For example, the user could use a computer programpackage referred to as Autospreader®, which is offered by TradingTechnologies International, and described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,437,325 toautomatically configure and trade one or more spreads, where a spreadbroadly refers to a strategy of buying and/or selling two or moredifferent tradeable objects.

Window 100 is configured to let a user manage open trade orders, i.e.,manage trade orders that are currently pending (or working) in a marketat the electronic exchange. Trade orders can be managed in a number ofways as is already known in the art; for example, a trade order can bedeleted from the market or trade order parameter (e.g., price, quantity,buy/sell, and so on) can be changed while the order is pending in themarket. The current configuration of window 100, however, lets the userdelete a trade order by selecting “Del” on the appropriate button in the“Del” column and change an order price parameter by selecting “CrossInside” on the appropriate button in the “Cross Inside” column. A buttonin window 100 can be selected, for example, with a cursor of a userinput device like a mouse or keyboard positioned over the button duringthe action of selection (e.g., hovering a cursor over the button for atime without a click, single click of a mouse button, double click of amouse button, depress a key on a keyboard, a combination of clicks, andso on).

In some embodiments, a button broadly refers to a user interface elementthat provides the user a way to trigger an event or confirm an action,for example. Graphically speaking, a button can possess any size orshape. For example, a button may be rectangular, round, roundedrectangular, triangle, or any other shape, if so programmed. A user mayselect a button by clicking it with a cursor controlled by a mousedevice, but other input such as a keystroke can be used to execute thefunction of a button (e.g., a button with active focus). A button mayrequire a user to simply press down on a mouse button to execute thefunction, click only once to execute the function, or the button mayrequire two or more clicks to execute the function (e.g., adouble-click). For ease of illustration, the word “click,” “clicked,” or“clicking” may be broadly used herein to refer to an act of selection,and can include any of a mouse button down action only, a single-clickof a mouse button, a double-click of a mouse button, a key press on akeyboard, a combination of inputs, and so on. In some embodiments,selecting a button sends a command to the program and/or computer(s) toexecute (or initiate) the function. A button might also indicate on thedisplay screen when it has been selected.

As currently shown in window 100 of FIG. 1A, row 1 corresponds to anexample spread strategy designated as “AA1-AA2,” where AA1 is a firsttradeable object and AA2 is a second tradeable object. Window 100 showsthat there is a trade order working in the market to buy or sell aquantity of “10” of AA2 at a price of “195.”

Row 2 currently corresponds to another example spread strategydesignated as “BB1-BB2,” where BB1 is a first tradeable object and BB2is a second tradeable object. Window 100 shows that there is a tradeorder working in the market to buy or sell a quantity of “5” of BB2 at aprice of “215.”

Similarly, row 3 currently corresponds to a third example spreadstrategy designated as “CC1-CC2,” where CC1 corresponds to a firsttradeable object and CC2 corresponds to a second tradeable object.Window 100 shows that there is a trade order working in the market tobuy or sell a quantity of “12” of CC2 at a price of “75.”

Also shown in window 100 of FIG. 1A is a cursor 102, which may becontrolled by a mouse, keyboard, trackball, or some other user inputdevice. According to FIG. 1A, cursor 102 is currently positioned over a“Del” button that corresponds to row 2 and the trade order to buy orsell a quantity of “5” of BB2 at a price of “215.” To delete the tradeorder, for example, the user may simply click on the correspondingbutton. Assume for this example that the user intends to delete thetrade order for BB2.

FIG. 1B shows the screen shot of FIG. 1A, but at a moment in time later;which updated just before the user selected the button, for example. Ascan be seen from FIG. 1B, row 1 of FIG. 1A has been removed, whichindicates that the trade order for AA2 is no longer working in themarket. Removal of the row from the interface might happen unexpectedlyto the user. For example, the trade order could have been matched withanother order or deleted. Because the trade order for AA2 is no longerpending in the market, window 100 automatically removed the trade orderfrom the view and shifted the other rows up in this instance to savescreen area. Shifting the rows up is an example of compressing the rowsso that gaps in the display region are filled, and consequently screenarea is preserved. Likewise, buttons corresponding to trade orders forBB2 and CC2 are shifted up.

At this moment, row 1 currently corresponds to spread “BB1-BB2” and row2 corresponds to spread “CC1-CC2.” However, even though the user did notmove the cursor 102 on the display screen, cursor 102 is now positionedover the “Del” button that corresponds to the trade order for CC2. Ifthe user releases the mouse button at this moment, for example, the userwill inadvertently delete the trade order for CC2; and not delete theoriginally intended trade order for BB2. This is an example of amis-click. The time between FIG. 1A and FIG. 1B can be nearinstantaneous (for example, less than the time it takes for an averageperson to finish a click of a mouse button), such that a user caninadvertently delete (or change) a trade order due the possibility thatone of the trade orders is removed from the view.

Screen shots of FIGS. 1A and 1B also show buttons “Cross Inside” thatmay be selected to change an order price parameter of a correspondingorder. An order price parameter may be changed through a cancel andreplace action or some other equivalent action. Other buttons may beplaced in window 100 that are directed towards different functions likemodifying order quantity or sending a trade order onto an exchange, forexample. Irrespective of the type or function of a button, it isunderstood that a mis-click can occur if the screen is updated while theuser is clicking a particular button.

FIGS. 2A, 2B, and 2C show example screen shots when features of certainembodiments described more below are turned ON. Window 200 in FIG. 2A isessentially the same window as window 100 in FIG. 1A. According to FIG.2A, cursor 202 is currently positioned over a “Del” button thatcorresponds to row 2 and the trade order to buy or sell a quantity of“5” of BB2 at a price of “215.” Just as in FIG. 1A, to delete the tradeorder, for example, the user may simply click the button. Assume againthat the user intends to delete the trade order for BB2.

FIG. 2B shows the screen shot of FIG. 2A, but at a moment in time later;which updated before the user selected the button, for example, toindicate that the trade order for AA2 is no longer working in themarket. However, unlike FIG. 1B, the cursor 202 remains on the “Del”button for trade order BB2, so that if the user releases the mousebutton at this moment, for example, the user will delete the intendedtrade order for BB2.

Also, according to FIG. 2B, row 1 is altered in a way to indicate to theuser that the trade order for AA2 is no longer working in the market.Any kind of indication may be used to show the user that the trade orderfor AA2 is no longer working in the market. For example, the entire row,or a portion thereof, may be highlighted, grayed out, crossed out,hatched over, or the like, or a mark—like a check—could be displayed inalignment with the row. Regardless of the indication used, the interfacecan provide the user with a sign that the trade order is no longerworking in the market.

In addition to, or in place of, providing an indication, anyfunctionality associated with AA2 may be disabled. For example, the usermay no longer be able to select options to delete or modify the tradeorder for AA2.

FIG. 2C shows window 200, which is at this moment similar to window 100of FIG. 1B. That is, the row corresponding to the trade order for AA2 isremoved and the remaining rows are shifted up to conserve screen space(e.g., the rows are compressed). This change occurs responsive to thecursor 202 moving out of a certain defined zone, more of which isdescribed below. Now, it can be seen in window 200 that trade orders forBB2 and CC2 are still working in their respective markets.

FIG. 3 is an illustrative block diagram of buttons being displayed on adisplay screen when features of certain embodiments described herein areturned OFF. Looking to axis 300, there are four buttons 306, 308, 310,and 312; however, there can be any desired number of buttons displayedon a particular display screen, if so programmed and there is enoughscreen space. Buttons 306, 308, 310, and 312 may be similar to thebuttons used to delete and modify trade orders in FIGS. 1A, 1B, 2A, and2B. In other words, in certain embodiments, a button might include agraphical element that when activated, performs a specific function. Asdescribed above, a user can activate a button by, for example, clickingon it with mouse or, if the button has the focus, by hitting a key on akeyboard. In certain embodiments, a button might also include a numberof pixels or x, y coordinates on the display screen that when selectedor activated, performs a specific function.

In addition, it is understood that the buttons may not be associatedwith trade orders (the examples of FIGS. 1A, 1B, 2A, 2B, and 2C areassociated with trade orders). Rather, certain embodiments may be usefulin other user interfaces that behave in a similarly dynamic fashion andwhere buttons may be programmed to initiate or execute particularfunctions (not necessarily tied to trade orders or even electronictrading, for that matter).

In certain embodiments, selecting a button may be configured to initiateat least one of modifying a trade order or canceling the trade order.For example, selecting a button might cause a window (e.g., a separatearea of the screen, a separate window, a pop-up window, or some otherwindow or area) to be displayed. Depending on the button, the windowwill allow a user to modify a trade order, cancel a trade order, or bothmodify and cancel the trade order. A confirmation request might beprogrammed into the window to confirm a modification or cancellation ofthe trade order. According to another example, selecting a button mightalso include sending a message onto an exchange without a confirmationfrom the user, where the message is to modify or cancel a trade order,for instance.

In certain embodiments, selecting a button may be configured to initiatesending a new trade order to a market at an electronic exchange. Aconfirmation request may be programmed to appear upon selection of thebutton, if so desired. In some embodiments, selecting a button may beconfigured to send a new trade order message to the market at theelectronic exchange without a confirmation request. In some embodiments,selecting a button may be configured to initiate or execute some otherdefined function.

Looking again to FIG. 3, axis 302 shows that button 308 is no longeravailable. Button 308 might be removed from the display if, for example,the function associated with the button is no longer current. Forinstance, if button 308 corresponded to the function of deleting ormodifying a trade order, but the trade order is no longer working at theexchange, then a user could no longer delete or modify the tradeorder—i.e., the function of deleting or modifying the trade order is nolonger current. As such, the system removes button 308 to conservescreen area and remove screen clutter. Axis 302 also shows an example ofuncompressed buttons.

Axis 304 shows buttons 306, 310, and 312 compressed along the axis 304.In certain embodiments, it is desirable to compress buttons 306, 310,and 312 to remove a gap (or potential gap) along the axis. Thus, the gapshown along axis 302 is closed by compressing the buttons along theaxis. In other words, the gap caused by removal of button 308 is filledwith button 310. Compressing the buttons keeps the display current andit makes improved use of valuable, limited screen area by removing old,oftentimes irrelevant, data.

It is understood that the step of removing button 308 per axis 302 maynot be transparent to the user, such that the user might only seebuttons 306, 308, 310, and 312 per axis 300 on the screen display andthen the buttons 306, 310, and 312 per axis 304 on the screen display.This would be similar to viewing FIG. 1A at time 1 and FIG. 1B at time2, where time 2 could be a fraction of a second later than time 1.

FIG. 3 also shows that because the actual position of the cursor 314 didnot substantially change on the screen from axis 300 through axis 304(e.g., the user did not move the cursor 314), but the function of thebutton has changed (i.e., a function associated with button 310 changedto a function associated with button 312), it is possible for the wrongfunction to be activated. This illustration similarly highlights anissue with the display as does FIGS. 1A and 1B, when certain featuresare turned OFF.

It is worth noting that a button, or the user interface element that isused to represent the button, might not actually be shifted on thedisplay screen when compression occurs. Instead, the interface maysimply reassign a function to the button. For example, button 308 alongaxis 300 has a certain function assigned to it—call it function 1.Button 310 along axis 300 has a different function assigned to it—callit function 2. However, button 310 along axis 304 might actually use thesame graphical element as button 308 along axis 300, except that thegraphical element once assigned to function 1 is now assigned tofunction 2. As such, compression of buttons may also include areassignment of functions.

FIG. 4 is an illustrative diagram of buttons being displayed on adisplay screen when features of certain embodiments described herein areturned ON. Like FIG. 3, buttons 406, 408, 410, and 412 are shown alongaxis 400; however, there can be any reasonable number of buttonsdisplayed on a particular display screen, if so programmed. Buttons 406,408, 410, and 412 may be similar to the buttons used to delete andmodify trade orders in FIGS. 1A, 1B, 2A, and 2B.

As shown in FIG. 4, buttons 406, 408, 410, and 412 are positioned andcompressed along axis 400, where each button is assigned a function(e.g., a function to delete or modify a first trade order, a function todelete or modify a second trade order, and so on).

With respect to axis 402, the function associated with button 408 is nolonger current. In certain embodiments, the system refrains fromremoving button 408 from the region when the function is no longercurrent and cursor 414 is positioned within the region 416. Button 408is outlined using a dashed line to indicate that it is no longercurrent. Note that the boundary of region 416 may (or may not) bedisplayed to the user. As such, region 416 is shown in the figure forillustrative purposes. Additionally, region 416 could be defined inother ways; for example, a region may only include the buttonsthemselves (accordingly, a region can include multiple, distinct areas),a row, a column, or some other programmed area on the screen.

Per axis 404, in certain embodiments, button 408 is removed from region416 when the function is no longer current and the cursor of the userinput device is not positioned within region 416. Here, cursor 414 isshown outside of the region. Consequently, buttons 406, 410, and 412 arecompressed subsequent to removing button 408 from region 416 to preventa gap along the axis.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart 500 illustrating an operation of certainembodiments described herein. Flowchart 500 shows the functionality andoperation of certain embodiments. In this regard, each block may beimplemented alone or in combination in various forms of hardware,firmware, or as a set of instructions in software, for example. Certainembodiments may be provided as a set of instructions residing on acomputer readable medium, such as a memory, hard disk, CD-ROM, DVD, orEPROM, for execution on a computer or other processing device.Alternative implementations are included within the scope of the exampleembodiments of the present invention in which functions may be executedout of order from that shown in flowchart 500 or discussed, includingsubstantially concurrent or in reverse order, depending on thefunctionality involved, as would be understood by those skilled in theart.

At block 502, buttons on a screen display are positioned and compressedalong a line or axis. For example, FIGS. 1A, 1B, 2A, 2B, 2C, 3 and 4 allshow various kinds of buttons that are positioned along a verticallyoriented axis (though, only an axis is visually illustrated in FIGS. 3and 4). As can be clearly seen in the examples, compression of thebuttons in all of the figures occurs in the same direction of the axis(e.g., compression occurs in a direction parallel to the axis). Incertain embodiments, the line or axis may be oriented horizontally, inwhich case the compression would occur in a direction that ishorizontal. In some embodiments, the line or axis may be oriented inother directions including a curved line or axis, and if such anorientation is used, the embodiments described herein are particularlyuseful when the compression of the buttons occurs in a direction alongthe line or axis.

At block 504, a button is to be removed. Oftentimes and as describedabove, a button is to be removed because the function associated withthe button is no longer current. In some of the examples describedabove, a button's function is no longer current when the buttoncorresponds to a trade order that is no longer working in a market.

At block 506, it is determined whether a cursor or focus is in a zone.The zone may be defined by a region on the display screen thatencapsulates the one or more buttons. For example, in some embodiments,a zone might simply be the buttons themselves. That is, a cursor wouldbe considered in the zone when the cursor is positioned over a button.Similarly, a focus (e.g., a component of the interface which is ready tobe selected) would be considered in the zone when the focus is on abutton. In some embodiments, a zone might include some screen areaaround the buttons in addition to the buttons themselves. In someembodiments, a zone might include an entire row or column associatedwith one or more of the buttons. In other embodiments, the entire windowin which the buttons are displayed may be the zone. Irrespective of thezone boundary, it is determined whether the cursor or focus is in thezone.

At block 508, if the cursor is determined to not be in the zone, thenthe button (determined at block 504) is to be removed and per block 510,the button is removed and the remaining buttons (if any) are compressed.

At block 512, if the cursor is determined to be in the zone, then thebutton remains on the screen and the button is highlighted in such a wayas to show the user that the button is no longer current. FIG. 2Billustrates an example of highlighting a button (and row) to indicatethat the buttons that corresponds to trade order AA2 are no longercurrent. FIG. 4 also shows button 408 is no longer current by the use ofa dashed line. However, by fixing the button on the screen when thecursor is in the zone, it increases the chances that the intended buttonis selected by the user.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a system 600 that can perform the operationof FIG. 5. The system 600 includes a cursor component 602, a detectioncomponent 604, and a display component 606.

The display component 606 is in communication with the cursor component602 and the detection component 604. In certain embodiments, the displaycomponent 606, the cursor component 602, and the detection component 604are part of a client device. An example client device is a desktopcomputer. Another example of a client device is a server computer.

In operation, display component 606 displays, on a display screen of acomputer, a region that includes one or more buttons that are positionedand compressed along an axis. In some embodiments, each button has afunction that corresponds to a trade order pending at one or moreelectronic exchanges. In some embodiments, each button is configured tobe selected through an action of a user input device with a cursor ofthe user input device positioned over the button to initiate at leastone of modifying a trade order and canceling the trade order.

The detection component 604 is adapted to determine when a button is nolonger current, and the cursor component 602 is adapted to determinewhen the cursor of the user input device is positioned within theregion. If the button is no longer current and the cursor is notpositioned within the region, then the button can be removed from theregion via display component 606. The one or more remaining buttons maybe compressed in the region subsequent to removing the button from theregion to prevent a gap along the axis by removal of the button.However, if the button is no longer current, but the cursor ispositioned within the region as determined by the cursor component 602,then the display component 606 refrains from removing the button fromthe region.

As used herein, a “tradeable object” refers to anything that can betraded with a price, a quantity, or both price and quantity. Forexample, financial products such as stocks, options, bonds, futures,currency, warrants, funds derivatives, commodities, and collections orcombinations of these may be tradeable objects. A tradeable object maybe “real” or “synthetic.” A real tradeable object includes products thatare listed by an exchange. A synthetic tradeable object includesproducts that are defined by the user and are not listed by an exchange.For example, a synthetic tradeable object may include a combination ofreal (or other synthetic) products such as a synthetic spread. Atradeable object may also include traded events or goods, for example.

While the inventions have been described with reference to certainembodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art thatvarious changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted withoutdeparting from the scope of the invention. In addition, manymodifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material tothe teachings of the invention without departing from the spirit orscope of the present inventions. Therefore, it is intended that theinventions not be limited to the particular embodiments disclosedherein.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A computer-implemented method forpresenting electronic trading related information on a display screen ofa computer system, the method comprising: receiving, via a user inputdevice, a user input to manipulate a cursor displayed on a displayscreen of the computer system; displaying via the computer system on thedisplay screen a region comprising a plurality of buttons wherein eachbutton is positioned and compressed along an axis and is configured tobe selected via the user input device of the computer system to initiatean operation on a corresponding trade order pending at an electronicexchange; displaying via the computer system on the display screen themanipulated cursor, where the cursor is movable with respect to theregion in response to the user input device; monitoring, via thecomputer system, a position of the cursor with respect to the region todetermine whether the cursor is within the region as the cursor iscaused to move with respect to the display screen in response to theuser input device; receiving via the user input device of the computersystem a command to select a first button of the plurality of buttons inthe region, the command causing the cursor to be positioned over a firstbutton to initiate at least one of modifying a first trade ordercorresponding to the first button and canceling the first trade ordercorresponding to the first button; in response to determining that asecond trade order for a second button of the plurality of buttons inthe region is no longer pending at the electronic exchange and that thecursor is positioned outside the region: removing via the computersystem the second button for the second trade order from the region, andcompressing via the computer system a remaining portion of the pluralityof buttons in the region, where the remaining portion of the pluralityof buttons in the region includes the first button and a third buttonfor a third order; and in response to determining that the second tradeorder for the second button is not pending at the electronic exchangeand that the cursor is positioned inside the region: maintaining via thecomputer system at least a portion of the second button in the region.2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprisingdisplaying an indicator in relation to the second button subsequent tomaintaining the second button indicating that the second trade order forthe second button is not pending at the electronic exchange.
 3. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising sending amessage to the electronic exchange to modify the first trade order forthe first button responsive to the command to select the first button.4. The computer-implemented method of claim 3, wherein the commandcomprises a click of a button of the user input device, the click of thebutton consisting of a single click.
 5. The computer-implemented methodof claim 1, further comprising sending a message to the electronicexchange to cancel the first trade order responsive to selecting thefirst button in the region through the command.
 6. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 5, wherein the command comprises aclick of a button of the user input device, the click of the buttonconsisting of a single click.
 7. The computer-implemented method ofclaim 1, wherein the command comprises a click of a button of the userinput device, the click of the button consisting of a single click. 8.The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising opening awindow for displaying information related to modifying the first tradeorder responsive to the command to select the first button.
 9. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising opening awindow for displaying information related to canceling the first tradeorder responsive to the command to select the first button.
 10. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein compressing comprisesany of graphically moving a button on the display screen and assigning adifferent function to at least one of the plurality of buttons.
 11. Anon-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereoninstructions for execution on a computer to perform the followingmethod: receiving, via a user input device, a user input to manipulate acursor displayed on a display screen of the computer system; displayingvia the computer system on the display screen a region comprising aplurality of buttons wherein each button is positioned and compressedalong an axis and is configured to be selected via the user input deviceof the computer system to initiate an operation on a corresponding tradeorder pending at an electronic exchange; displaying via the computersystem on the display screen the manipulated cursor, where the cursor ismovable with respect to the region in response to the user input device;monitoring, via the computer system, a position of the cursor withrespect to the region to determine whether the cursor is within theregion as the cursor is caused to move with respect to the displayscreen in response to the user input device; receiving via the userinput device of the computer system a command to select a first buttonof the plurality of buttons in the region, the command causing thecursor to be positioned over a first button to initiate at least one ofmodifying a first trade order corresponding to the first button andcanceling the first trade order corresponding to the first button; inresponse to determining that a second trade order for a second button ofthe plurality of buttons in the region is no longer pending at theelectronic exchange and that the cursor is positioned outside theregion: removing via the computer system the second button for thesecond trade order from the region, and compressing via the computersystem a remaining portion of the plurality of buttons in the region,where the remaining portion of the plurality of buttons in the regionincludes the first button and a third button for a third order; and inresponse to determining that the second trade order for the secondbutton is not pending at the electronic exchange and that the cursor ispositioned inside the region: maintaining via the computer system atleast a portion of the second button in the region.
 12. Thenon-transitory computer readable medium of claim 11, further comprisingdisplaying an indicator in relation to the second button subsequent tomaintaining the second button indicating that the second trade order forthe second button is not pending at the electronic exchange.
 13. Thenon-transitory computer readable medium of claim 11, further comprisingsending a message to the electronic exchange to modify the first tradeorder for the first button responsive to the command to select the firstbutton.
 14. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 13,wherein the command comprises a click of a button of the user inputdevice, the click of the button consisting of a single click.
 15. Thenon-transitory computer readable medium of claim 11, further comprisingsending a message to the electronic exchange to cancel the first tradeorder responsive to selecting the first button in the region through thecommand.
 16. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 15,wherein the command comprises a click of a button of the user inputdevice, the click of the button consisting of a single click.
 17. Thenon-transitory computer readable medium of claim 11, wherein the commandcomprises a click of a button of the user input device, the click of thebutton consisting of a single click.
 18. The non-transitory computerreadable medium of claim 11, further comprising opening a window fordisplaying information related to modifying the first trade orderresponsive to the command to select the first button.
 19. Thenon-transitory computer readable medium of claim 11, further comprisingopening a window for displaying information related to canceling thefirst trade order responsive to the command to select the first button.20. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 11, whereincompressing comprises any of graphically moving a button on the displayscreen and assigning a different function to at least one of theplurality of buttons.